tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33952402012-05-21T11:59:59.441+01:00Freedom and WhiskyA libertarian look at Scottish politicsDavid Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.comBlogger2698125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-10069709561113611332012-05-18T12:12:00.002+01:002012-05-18T12:16:06.544+01:002012-05-18T12:16:06.544+01:00Just how many tourists will get arrested during the 2014 games in Glasgow?Ten?A hundred?A thousand?Probably far more if this is implemented:Amateur Photographer (AP) can exclusively reveal that Glasgow Subway passengers will be told they must ‘not take photographs, or make video, audio or visual recordings on any part of the subway'.These authoritarian bansturbators are a menace to civilised society. The Glasgow Subway is one of the city's great icons and it's exactly David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-90719108955021558392012-05-16T19:49:00.001+01:002012-05-16T19:54:08.570+01:002012-05-16T19:54:08.570+01:00The Scottish Cup
Scottish Cup, a photo by David Farrer on Flickr.David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-47240492701450327152012-05-16T19:48:00.003+01:002012-05-16T19:55:30.700+01:002012-05-16T19:55:30.700+01:00Jambos
Scottish Cup, a photo by David Farrer on Flickr.David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-84719315725526396862012-05-16T19:48:00.001+01:002012-05-16T19:56:00.053+01:002012-05-16T19:56:00.053+01:00Hibees
Scottish Cup, a photo by David Farrer on Flickr.David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-61323289378460732582012-05-07T17:08:00.001+01:002012-05-07T17:17:44.829+01:002012-05-07T17:17:44.829+01:00The Midlothian CampaignI don't live in Midlothian East but if I did I'd have voted for Peter de Vink last week.Brian Monteith writes about the de Vink victory in today's ScotsmanIf there is any doubt that the Conservatives have become a toxic brand, the council election victory of Peter de Vink will dispel it, writes Brian MonteithMonteith concludesIt should not need repeating, but I shall say it yet again. The David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-57378083792280478852012-04-25T17:56:00.000+01:002012-04-25T18:12:02.186+01:002012-04-25T18:12:02.186+01:00Private bad, public goodJust when I thought that the state could sink no lower I read this:A transplant ambulance driver has been found guilty of speeding while travelling from Edinburgh with a human organ on board.Andy Thomson, 46, from Blyth in Northumberland, got three penalty points and a £60 fine.Fortunately the liver was delivered from Edinburgh to Leeds in time for a transplant operation.It seems that there's David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-88441761009794716502012-04-23T16:28:00.002+01:002012-04-23T17:25:53.580+01:002012-04-23T17:25:53.580+01:00The establishmentThe Mail carries an article by Dominic Sandbrook about Ferdinand Mount's new book.Mount's theme is that Britain is run by an out-of-date and out-of-touch self-perpetuating elite. I have no argument with that, but I don't quite think that Sandbrook or Mount have understood the real problem.Consider this extract:Mount gives the example of High Bickington, a village in Devon which put forward a David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-76660540943956098782012-04-22T12:26:00.000+01:002012-04-22T18:37:33.787+01:002012-04-22T18:37:33.787+01:00CommentsReaders may be wondering why comments are currently appearing in the main view rather than in a separate clickable window.
It's all to do with the closing down of my current commenting system at the end of September. The Freedom and Whisky template goes way back to the days when Blogger was an independent company. Back then, there were no commenting facilities on the template. After a while a David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-80701667706326505502012-04-21T15:32:00.002+01:002012-04-21T15:32:53.503+01:002012-04-21T15:32:53.503+01:00Harry BrowneThis is a great book that should be read by everyone.David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-12501583845730081422012-04-21T09:43:00.000+01:002012-04-21T10:06:35.846+01:002012-04-21T10:06:35.846+01:00Scottish Libertarians
The Scottish Libertarians are developing nicely and plan to become a political party:There are a few big announcements to make. The National Council of Representatives (NCR) for the Scottish Libertarians has been quite busy laying the foundations for the party.The working draft for the party manifesto is now available for reading on-line at the website and it has already created a bit of a stormDavid Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-77012527808396916102012-04-09T16:29:00.012+01:002012-04-09T16:59:00.777+01:002012-04-09T16:59:00.777+01:00A fundamental error in Austrian economics!Earlier today I started to read the excellent pocket-sized version of Man Economy and State along with Robert Murphy's Study Guide to the great work.Imagine my shock when I came across a fundamental error.CLICK to enlarge:Line x4 on the left hand diagram should be one row down, i.e. one line below Y3!Obviously.Thank goodness my forty-year-old version of the great work had things correct, David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-21560612358012553562012-04-02T16:38:00.008+01:002012-04-02T17:22:39.248+01:002012-04-02T17:22:39.248+01:00Liberty LeagueMrs F&W and I went down to Newcastle to attend the Liberty League weekend conference. We hadn't quite realised that this was essentially a student event but we were made welcome and had a thoroughly enjoyable couple of days. Some of the speakers I'd met before - Kevin Dowd, Madsen Pirie, Claire Fox and Alex Singleton.After Kevin Dowd's second talk one of the locals said that the number of David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-11468468390361496822012-03-30T20:23:00.000+01:002012-04-02T17:30:47.384+01:002012-04-02T17:30:47.384+01:00San FranciscoWe paid a short visit to San Francisco a couple of weeks ago. Here are the photos:Cable Cars etc.BarsBlack and WhiteMissionPalace of Fine ArtsGeneralDavid Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-21522036743218268212012-03-21T15:46:00.005Z2012-04-02T17:20:48.467+01:002012-04-02T17:20:48.467+01:00Comments and the new URLReaders may have noticed the problem with the commenting system. It's the result of the new Google policy of changing the URL from .com to one that is country specific. So, if you're reading this in the UK, the last part of the URL will change automatically to .co.uk. That in turn screws up the commenting system provided by Echo.If you amend the .co.uk ending to .com/ncr all will be back to David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-69832496871101511142012-02-22T17:41:00.006Z2012-02-22T18:56:16.191Z2012-02-22T18:56:16.191ZA reply to this.I've followed your blog for quite some time but this piece is very upsetting.Let's start with this: "Scottish identity is fundamentally an ethnic affiliation." I'm sorry, but that's completely wrong. How does one explain all of those English born SNP activists not to mention the various English born SNP members at Holyrood? Our SNP education secretary was born in Kent. And what David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-75223118098653578442012-02-22T11:12:00.002Z2012-02-22T11:15:47.940Z2012-02-22T11:15:47.940ZIs this e-mail a con?Attn:Your name top the list of Americans who have been struggling for many years now to get back their unclaimed- Lotto winnings, Contract payments and Inheritance fund from oversea banks/countries without success.As part of President Barack Obama's Economic Blueprint, aimed at empowering Americans financially, as outlined in his last State of the Union Address, the President had ordered that we David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-35930614086564874632012-02-20T19:04:00.005Z2012-02-20T19:12:04.330Z2012-02-20T19:12:04.330ZThe continuing saga on Political BettingI've just posted this over on Political Betting:
I have to agree that James Kelly is a bit misguided. Because he is a socialist, that is.But on the question at hand he has my full support. Mike has built up the best political site in the UK. And as a hard-core libertarian I fully support Mike’s right to make any rules whatsoever. However, the best sites do tend to run off thread very quickly David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-8104770755848669842012-01-18T18:05:00.014Z2012-01-18T18:33:56.223Z2012-01-18T18:33:56.223Z Margaret McAlpine and Joan ThatcherThe SNP MSP Margaret Joan McAlpine has got herself into a bit of trouble:What I said that day was clipped on some television bulletins in a way which cut me off mid-sentence so that I seem to be saying that Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Tories were anti-Scottish, full stop.But there was no full stop. The sentence goes on to say “in coming together to defy the will of the Scottish people David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-82574145781423858372011-12-30T09:08:00.003Z2011-12-30T10:03:13.844Z2011-12-30T10:03:13.844ZQuote of the dayFrom Mises: The Last Knight of Liberalism:In the interwar period, the large Austrian banks had consciously sought to win economists of Schumpeter's standing as front men to reassure their creditors from abroad. They had also asked Mises for support several times, but he always rejected these proposals because he thought the commercial banks were all bankrupt. This was not a pose. He had in fact David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-84541536087015683522011-12-29T16:30:00.006Z2011-12-29T16:41:46.983Z2011-12-29T16:41:46.983ZPre-Christmas inboxDavid Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-36691703921273949362011-12-29T16:26:00.003Z2011-12-29T16:30:25.045Z2011-12-29T16:30:25.045ZCurrently readingDavid Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-20995436912608575222011-12-29T15:48:00.008Z2011-12-29T16:04:49.178Z2011-12-29T16:04:49.178ZAm I the only one not calling for a subsidy?Here we go again:PUBLIC money should be used to subsidise more direct flights from Scotland to China, Russia, India and BrazilNow I'm a fan of aviation having been brought up at Prestwick, but this is ridiculous. Just the sort of nonsense one would expect from the Labour party.But read on:Both Labour and the Conservatives yesterday urged SNP ministers to set up a dedicated pot of cash to tempt David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-46251352707998254442011-12-26T16:30:00.020Z2011-12-26T17:27:02.456Z2011-12-26T17:27:02.456ZHow to save the UnionI'm not saying that one should or shouldn't want to save the Union but simply explaining how it could be saved. And this is the only way.Back in May I wrote this:I have no doubt at all that most nationalists are motivated by questions of identity, not finance. Of course it helps their case if the economics look good but what they are working towards is for Scotland to be a normal country.It David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-45953947822023991892011-12-25T22:11:00.014Z2011-12-25T22:34:46.129Z2011-12-25T22:34:46.129ZMerry ChristmasWith acknowledgement to: these guys.(CLICK image for clearer version)David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-38276458294817655732011-12-24T16:17:00.007Z2011-12-24T16:42:09.835Z2011-12-24T16:42:09.835ZThe Edinburgh pound?A local currency for Edinburgh?Perhaps:PLANS to introduce a new local currency for Edinburgh have been approved, despite concerns about forgeries.I see that Councillor Jim Lowrie has "raised concerns about the potential for counterfeiting". I know Cllr. Lowrie, and he's right.The problem is that any government created paper currency is counterfeit unless it's backed 100% by some real asset. Will David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0